Teaching Report Writing through Active

Learning

by Jean Reynolds, Ph.D.

I’ve been a college professor, a trainer, and a consultant.

I’ve helped many cadets, officers, instructors, and administrators solve problems with report writing.

I’m the author of 11 books, including Criminal Justice Report Writing.

In this video I’m going to offer you some tips for improving students’ writing skills…quickly.

I’m going to begin with a story about an ornithologist – a scientist who studies birds.

One day the ornithologist was visiting a friend in New York City.

While they were walking, the ornithologist suddenly stopped. He heard the song of a rare bird!

His friend laughed.“This is one of the noisiest streets in the city! You couldn’t possibly have heard a bird.”

The ornithologist didn’t argue. Instead he dropped a quarter onto the sidewalk.

Instantly twenty people stopped and looked down at the sidewalk.

We hear and see what we’ve been trained to look for.

More precisely, we hear and see what our brains have been trained to look for.

Image courtesy of aboutmodafinil.com

You probably know some people who say they aren’t good at math.But if you spend time with them, you’ll notice they never make a mistake when they’re handling money.

Our brains know how to process money because we handle it all the time.

Something else we all use constantly is language. Our brains have an amazingly complex storehouse of language software.

Research tells us that active learning is the brain’s preferred way to learn.

Let’s compare traditional schooling to active learning.

Traditional schooling aims to transfer information from teacher to student.

Teachers are full of knowledge. They tell students what they know.

Students don’t have knowledge. They sit quietly and try to absorb what the teacher is saying.

This approach to learning is like pouring water into a glass.

Our school years were full of this type of learning.In fact it may be hard to imagine a different way to teach and learn.

But there’s a second type of learning—active learning—that has a profound effect on the human brain.

Active learning means learning by doing.

Much academy training involves this second kind of learning…the kind that transforms the human brain.

The human brain responds to these two types of learning very differently.

Students can learn a great deal by listening to experts…

…but they also need active learning to build their brains.

Here’s why. Sitting quietly in a classroom usually produces a low level of brain activity.

Learning by doing demands a much higher level of brain activity. Active learners—students who read, write, and talk—develop a better brain.

The human brain has more than 86 billion neurons…

What many people don’t realize is that neurons can change. This picture represents ordinary neurons…

…and this picture shows the result of learning: neurons pair up and connect to one another.

Here’s an important principle to think about:

The person who’s doing the talking (or the reading, or the writing) is the person who’s doing the learning.

Lesson plans for writing police reports should include a variety of active learning experiences that involve

reading…

…and writing and talking.

But does active learning really produce results? The research says yes…

…when lesson plans include structure and accountability.

Structure refers to carefully designed learning activities that promote understanding, retention, and increased brainpower.

Accountability refers to performance standards that demand the best from each student.

You – the instructor – are the most important factor in this learning process.

If you provide structure and insist on accountability, your students will make progress.

Now let’s look at writing. Do police reports require advanced writing skills?

Usually not.Most sentences are simple and straightforward: “I questioned Johnson.” “Carter picked up a kitchen knife.”

So why do some students make writing mistakes?

Reason #1: Students tend to write the way they talk.

Students aren’t alone in this! Many people don’t worry about English usage in casual conversations.

“ain’t”“have went”

“don’t got none”“I seen it”“done did”

Reason #2: Students are in a hurry to finish assignments.

Reason #3: Students think that making corrections is the teacher’s job.

Reason #4: Students don’t trust themselves.

If you ask a class to double-check an assignment, some students might not even try to make corrections.

Reason #5: Students have never been asked to fix their own mistakes before.

They’re used to having a teacher do all the corrections for them.

It’s important to put the class on notice: The days of sitting back while teachers do the work are over!

You don’t have to be negative about it. Remind students often that their hard work is building brainpower.

But how do you make students accountable for their writing? Here are some tips.

1. Focus on specifics, not generalities.

If you tell students to fix their writing mistakes, they may feel helpless.

But you can give them a checklist of manageable writing skills and hold them to it:

Use capital letters correctly

Start every sentence with a person, place, or thing

End every sentence with a period

Make careful word choices Write neatly Double-check your facts Use a dictionary or

spellchecker

2. Hold group members accountable. If you find obvious mistakes in an assignment, resist the temptation to fix them yourself.

Hand the assignment back to the group for corrections.

3. If you’re tempted to backslide into doing students’ work for them, think about this: You already have a professional brain.

Your students are trying to get where you are. Letting them off the hook isn’t helping anyone.

Image courtesy of aboutmodafinil.com

Of course you can share what you know and offer help when needed.

The key is to know when it’s time to step in.

Here’s a useful guideline: Ask whether what you’re doing is empowering the student you’re helping.

Here’s another guideline: Ask who’s working harder to find the answer or solve the problem.

You and the student should be putting in equal effort.

Another good idea is to have the student hold the pen or pencil while you’re helping.

Remember: The person who’s doing the writing (or the talking, or the reading) is the person who’s doing the learning.

Most important, ask whose brain is getting stronger: Yours or the student’s?

Nothing is more satisfying to a teacher than to see a student confidently handling a challenge.

My wish is for you to have many of those moments in your classroom…

…and to thoroughly enjoy the teaching and learning process.

You can learn more about report writing at

www.YourPoliceWrite.com.

All the resources there are FREE: www.YourPoliceWrite.com.

Criminal Justice Report Writing is available from www.Amazon.com. View a free sample online.

A free Instructor’s Manual is available on request: Send an e-mail to jreynoldswrite at aol.com.